Enthusiastic start to face-to-face school session

Parents said unlike online classes, face-to-face schooling allowed students to interact with their friends and teachers and offered a more conducive environment for learning and development of students.

The schools in Group B are from all the three federal territories, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and Selangor.

A Bernama check at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Maxwell here found that many parents were thankful for seeing their children attend school in person after going through a tough period of studying from home online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mathibathanan Ramakrishnan, 57, said it was far more beneficial for students to attend classes in person, especially in terms of their mental health.

"In school, my son can socialise with his friends and teachers. The learning process is also more efficient because it's easier to ask questions. To me, online classes still have many problems," he told Bernama here today.

Bernama learnt that SMK Maxwell, which was affected by floods last month, managed to reopen for the new term after it was cleaned up by parents who are also alumni of the school.

In SELANGOR, Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin spent more than an hour inspecting the operation at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Meru in Kapar, Klang near here.

Zainal Sadari, 38, said his twin daughters, Ariana Nur Iman Tihani and Althia Nur Iman Tihani, were very excited to attend pre-school at SK Meru this morning as they had not met their friends for a long time.

In PERAK, parents were seen sending their children to Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Ampang in Ipoh using the drive-through concept introduced by the school as part of the standard operating procedure (SOP) to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Most of the students, from Years One, Two and Six, arrived as early as 6.50 am, where they underwent temperature checks and were given hand sanitisers before entering their classrooms.

In PERLIS, students were also in high spirits to clock in for the new term.

A Year Five student of Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Kangar, K. Jeyshrini, said she was glad to be able to return to school for in-person classes and meet with her friends.

Her sentiment was shared by Noor Damia Mahamad Noor, a Year One pupil of Sekolah Kebangsaan Putra, Kangar, who said she did not sleep well last night because she couldn't wait to come to school this morning.

In MELAKA, state Education and Technology Committee chairman Datuk Rais Yasin said 85,136 pupils from primary schools and 65,219 students from secondary schools began the new term today.

He said there were 71 students from primary and secondary schools still taking shelter at three flood relief centres (PPS) in Jasin.

"No teachers were affected by the floods and all of them reported for duty this morning. Students with damaged textbooks and equipment should contact the school authorities for help," he told reporters after presenting face masks to students and teachers of Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanjung Minyak.

In NEGERI SEMBILAN, a student of SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Gemas, Puteri Nur Hidayatul Akma Mohd Khairi, 16, showed great enthusiasm on the first day of school although she was not dressed in school uniform.

Puteri Nur Hidayatul turned up in a long-sleeved tee-shirt, sports pants and slippers because her uniform and other school equipment were damaged in the floods which hit Taman Sungai Gemas.

"This is the first time I'm attending school in home clothing because my uniform and other school paraphernalia were damaged and washed away by flood waters. But this did not dampen my spirit to attend school," she added.

There are 107,522 primary school pupils and 86,823 secondary school students in five education districts in the state.

In PAHANG, 34 schools including 10 in Pekan district could not yet begin the new school term today as they were still flooded.

The other flood-hit schools comprise six each in Temerloh and Rompin, Bera (four), Jerantut (three), Lipis (three) and Kuantan (two). Six other schools also could not yet operate as they were deemed unsuitable to accommodate students although the flood waters have receded.

Meanwhile, school van operator Yusri Akob, 47, greeted the reopening of schools with a sigh of relief as his income was badly affected by the pandemic last year.

"My house in Kuantan was flooded last month, making it more urgent for me to make some money to replace the damaged items," he said.

In KOTA KINABALU, Sabah education director Datuk Dr Mistirine Radin said 536,395 students started the new term today, involving 1,075 primary and 218 secondary schools.

He said the number comprised 320,912 primary school pupils and 215,483 secondary school students.